One Year Later
by DILestrudel
Summary: A couple explore the abandoned college after they hear a rumor that two bodies were found there a year earlier.


It had been almost a year since anyone had been on the property. The grass was as unkempt as ever, the only hint of the progression of time being an increase in ivy that scaled the walls of the once bustling college halls, choking the window frames. Two figures approached the school, walking quickly, glancing nervously over their shoulders. Urban explorers, if given an official term. "Ever been here before?" the tall boy asked the girl walking briskly beside him. The girl shook her head, "No. I've never even heard of this place. Why did the college shut down anyway?" she asked. The boy shrugged, "No clue. Probably some financial reason or something." They walked in silence for a few minutes, the campus buildings coming into view through the trees. The boy had insisted on walking up to the campus. They were technically trespassing, and their car would have been a dead giveaway. "So what's the story behind this place?" the girl asked, glancing around. The campus was empty, and her voice sounded unnaturally loud in the quiet. "They found some bodies here last year. Suspicious deaths, no IDs. John Does." the boy said, casting a sidelong glance at the girl, "Apparently there was a lot of blood…"

"This one." said the girl, pointing to the closest building to the sidewalk they had stopped on. "Why that one?" the boy asked, "It doesn't look all that interesting. I don't even think the door's open." The girl shrugged, already walking towards the building, "We'll see." she said, mounting the steps to the door and pulling on it gingerly. It creaked open. "Well how about that…" the boy breathed, jogging to catch up with her, "Ladies first." The girl frowned back at him, but entered the building all the same. The first floor appeared to be fairly uninteresting, empty rooms full of odds and ends, left over from the buildings college days. "Let's check upstairs." the boy said, and the girl agreed, allowing him to take the lead. "That's weird." she said, pausing at the top of the second landing. "What?" the boy asked, turning around. "Who would leave a chair just sitting here?" she asked, running her hand along the dusty back of the metal folding chair. "Maybe they were waiting for someone." the boy said with a smirk. "Looks like they were waiting for awhile." said the girl, picking up a half empty bottle of water from the windowsill, disturbing the fine layer of dust that had settled there.

"Can we go to the building across the street?" the boy asked, pleading, as the girl flipped through a water stained textbook. "Why are you so eager to leave..?" she asked, placing the book back on the shelf. "That's where they, you know, found 'um. Benedict Hall." he said, gesturing with his thumb in the direction of the building. "You're such a creep. Fine. Take the lead..." the girl replied, grinning. The boy obliged and together, they made their way quietly down the stairs, despite there being no real reason to be quiet. Neither wanted to make much noise.

The door was open, like the other building, pushing open easily. "It happened down there…" the boy said, gesturing to the basement door, which stood ajar. The hall beside it was blocked with debris. "Of course it did…" the girl muttered, turning on her flashlight and shining it into the gloomy basement. The stairs were relatively clear of debris, as was the rest of the basement, as far as the flashlight beam reached. "I remember the stories… Happened in the dark room down there." the boy said, inching down the stairs. "Well come on then." the girl said cheerily, making her way much more quickly down the stairs. "Hey...hey, wait!" the boy protested, scrambling to catch up with her and the flashlight. "It's on the right." the boy said, looking doubtful. The pair checked each door, poking their heads into each room and looking for signs of photo development equipment. The last door in the hall had the words they were looking for neatly stenciled on in white paint. The room was littered with remnants of photo development equipment, chairs and overturned furniture visible in the beam of the flashlight and the grimy, dim light that filtered through the tiny windows at the top of the wall. "They found one of them in here, shot. The gun was in the hall." the boy said, peering into a corner, unwilling to approach it. "Who shot him?" the girl asked, shining the flashlight into the corner the boy was so intently looking at. "They think it was the other guy they found, did some tests on his prints, found gunpowder. CSI style." the boy replied, toeing a chunk of concrete. "But why did he shoot him? I mean, why here?" the girl asked, moving around the room carefully. " They found him out in the street, dead. Someone shot him to. The guy was some mental patient. Crazy." the boy said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I thought you said they were John Does." the girl replied sharply, shining the flashlight on her companion. "It's just what I heard…" he replied, blinking into the light.

"What's down this hall?" the girl asked. "Just looks like some rooms." the boy replied, peering anxiously over his shoulder. "What, are you scared?" the girl teased, grinning over her shoulder. "No!" the boy protested, hands still in his pockets. "Well then come on." the girl said, starting down the hall. The rooms were empty, with nothing of interest. The girl pushed open a door, white paint flaking off at her touch. The concrete floor was littered with grit and debris, but aside from that, it was empty as well. "What's that?" the boy asked, pointing at the ground. The girl bent down, shining her flashlight on the darkish smear. "It looks like-" the girl started, before a hand gripping her shoulder made her scream. The boy chuckled. "That's not FUNNY!" the girl protested, punching his shoulder. "What did it look like?" the boy asked, still grinning. "It doesn't matter." the girl muttered, walking past him and heading for the stairs. "It was a joke!" the boy protested, walking quickly to catch up with the girl.

The pair wandered the campus, finding nearly all of the remaining buildings locked. The campus remained silent, their footsteps echoing loudly. "What's that?" the boy asked, pointing ahead, towards one of the more dilapidated buildings. "If this is another one of your jokes-" the girl protested, but the boy shook his head. "No! No really, see that thing sticking out just on the other side of that building? It looks sort of like a car.." he said, breaking away from the girl and moving hastily towards what he had pointed out. "I thought you said there was no one here!" the girl asked, jogging to keep up with him. The boy did not reply until they had reached the car. "Oh, don't worry." he said, "Look. This thing has been here for awhile." Plantlife had begun to snake its way up the cars side, curling into the tires. The windshield wipers had collected leaves. The girl cupped her hands, peering into the car. "There's stuff inside." she said. The boy looked in as well. A dufflebag sat in the back seat and, in the passengers seat, there sat a brown hat. "Wonder what's inside…" the boy asked, looking around. "Don't." said the girl firmly, "That's a little too illegal for me." The boy frowned but appeared to give in. "Wonder if it's one of those guys cars…" he asked. The girl shrugged.

Not too far away from where that car sat, tucked away behind a building, there was another car, pulled into a little blind alley between two buildings. Impossible to see unless you walked right past it. It to had sat there for awhile. "There's a dufflebag in this one to." the girl said, stepping back from the car. "Weird." the boy replied, looking around the car. "Check it out…." he said, circling around the front of the car. "What?" the girl replied, following him. Blood stained the pavement beside the drivers side, and perhaps it had once stained the car. It was hard to tell. "God, that's so creepy…" the girl whispered. The boy grinned, dropping down on his hands and knees to look under the car. "What are you doing?" the girl protested, stepping back. The boy reached under the car, fumbling for a few moments before drawing away and standing up. He held a camera, mounted to a harness. "Is that a chest cam?" the girl asked, frowning. "Looks like it. Good thing it was under the car, or it might be ruined by now." the boy said, holding the camera up to look at it. "There's even a tape in it." The girl glanced around, "Should we watch it?" The boy nodded, fumbling with the camera buttons. "Okay. Maybe. Lets see…" he mumbled, poking at various buttons. The video refused to play, only distorted and warped audio. "BRI- Stop! Wait, ple-" a man's voice, from the sounds of it, shouted. The audio crinkled with static, a muffled pop halting the audio completely. "I'll get it. There's gotta be video and, like, full audio." the boy said, continuing to press buttons frantically. The girl laughed, turning around. "Let me know when you get tha-" she paused, making the boy look up. "What?" he asked. "There's someone in the woods…" the girl replied, looking back at the boy. "Who?" the boy asked, stepping forward to look out of the alley. "Some guy in a suit."


End file.
